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Outpatient visits for flu-like illness dropped for a second week in a row but remained above the peak seen during many flu seasons, federal officials say. They predict that flu activity is likely to remain elevated for several weeks. During the week ending February 17—week 7 of this flu season—the…

The FDA has approved the gene therapy Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl, Spark Therapeutics, Inc.) to treat children and adults with an inherited form of vision loss that may result in blindness. Luxturna is the first directly administered gene therapy approved in the U.S. that targets a disease…

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has won a further reprieve for its blockbuster lung drug Advair (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) after U.S. regulators insisted Hikma Pharmaceuticals conduct a further clinical study evaluating its generic version of the drug, Reuters reports. The Jordan-based…

These are certainly desperate times when it comes to the nation’s opioid epidemic. It might not be a desperate measure to force addicts into short-term rehabilitation facilities, but it’s getting attention, the Wall Street Journal reports. “In an aggressive, new proposal, Massachusetts authorities…

Dulaglutide (Trulicity, Eli Lilly and Company) significantly improved HbA1C when added to ongoing type-2 diabetes treatment with a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor, according to results from the phase 3b AWARD-10 trial. The data were published online in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology…

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP says it has cut its sales force in half and will stop promoting opioids to physicians following widespread criticism of the ways that drug makers market addictive painkillers, Reuters reported. The drug maker is informing doctors that its sales representatives will no…

Influenza activity decreased in the United States during the week ending February 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In week 8 of this trying flu season, the proportion of outpatient visits to doctors blamed on influenza-like illness (ILI) fell for the third straight…

The FDA has approved a new type of antiretroviral medication for adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who have tried multiple medications that are no longer controlling their disease. Ibalizumab-uiyk (Trogarzo, TaiMed Biologics USA Corp.) is indicated for heavily treatment-experienced…

The FDA has approved a supplemental biologics license application updating the dosing schedule of nivolumab (Opdivo, Bristol-Myers Squibb) to include 480 mg infused every four weeks (Q4W) for a majority of approved indications. This approval will give health care professionals the flexibility to customize…

A new report from Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) found that five opioid manufacturers paid nearly $9 million to 14 outside groups between 2012 and 2017, alleging that the advocacy groups often “amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use.” The groups—many of which work on chronic…

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has released new NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology intended to help make sure people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection who are diagnosed with cancer receive safe, necessary treatment. In 2010, an estimated 7,760 people…

The FDA, seeking to get critical updates on antibiotics and antifungal drugs to health care professionals more quickly, has created a website that will provide direct and timely access to information about when bacterial or fungal infections are likely to respond to a specific drug. The new tool is…

Nearly one in three students in 12th grade report past-year use of a vaping device, raising concerns about the impact on their health. What they say is in the device, however, ranges from nicotine to marijuana to “just flavoring,” according to the 2017 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey of eighth,…

The multiple sclerosis medication daclizumab (Zinbryta, Biogen/AbbVie) is being withdrawn from the market voluntarily following reports that it has been associated with inflammatory encephalitis and meningoencephalitis. The two companies said that “characterizing the complex and evolving benefit/risk…

And the lines, they are a blurring. Just days after CVS Health announced that it wants to buy Aetna for $69 billion, another megadeal looks to further integrate different functions in the health care system. Optum’s proposed purchase of DaVita Medical Group means that the nation’s largest insurer…